Melissa Vazquez

@historysandoval any way you can share a copy of your dinner party assignment with me? I can DM you my email.

@edpuzzle I really like you. I want to love you. But your user interface is terrible. The font choices (most offensive IMO)...the layout of certain pages...the way you can't add a co-teacher (or maybe you can but it's hidden somewhere?) Please, PLEASE hire a developer.

My 10th graders did a visual representation of a figurative fence in Fences. Here’s Cory inside a familial fence built by his father Troy. Things Troy has said & done have built this fence around Cory who is shackled by anxiety. On the other side of the fence: freedom. Powerful.

It’s not all reading and writing in my class. Sometimes we do art, too. Here we have Baby Ben from The Fifth Child. 🤣🤣👏🏻👏🏻 I love it!

Another book down! This one was PHENOMENAL. It’s a love story. But not what you expect. I had the ending somewhat figured out early on but that didn’t matter at all. I still devoured it. Finished this one in less than 18 hours. @JPSReads #TheSevenHusbandsOfEvelynHugo

#MondayWin : The students had an assessment via small group discussion in breakout rooms. Students I thought would need the most support really shined all on their own. 🤩🤩 Super proud today. 😍💗

Major trigger warning. Read the description before jumping into it. I won’t do a lengthy review. Vanessa is infuriating as she won’t see herself as a victim. The teacher is infuriating as he blatantly manipulates Vanessa. If you want to be infuriated, read this. #MyDarkVanessa

Ugh. I really had to push through this one. A concept w/ so much potential but it was too long/drawn out for me to care much about the big reveal at the end. Weak writing. Overkill on the details. I only finished it because of who I am fundamentally as a person. @JPSReads 👎🏻

listen. sometimes you talk about symbolism. sometimes you talk about how the words of a sentence have been carefully selected by the author. the development of a character. imagery. theme. the time period. and sometimes? sometimes you talk about zombies. because, high school.

@ShawnFitzgibbon I’m loving the series! Everyone has been incredible so far.

@MrsVteaches Hi, Melissa!

Lastly, #DefendingJacob. Finally got to it. Wow. I listened to the audiobook & it took me a min to realize that the father was being questioned during present day for what we find out at the end. Holy moly. I don’t even really have words for this review. Just wow. 😳 @JPSReads

Oh hello to you, too @ShawnFitzgibbon! This night is wild.

Oh hello @WilliamXifaras 😱

@WilliamXifaras @JPSReads @ChrisEvans Oh I’m sure he does! Still had to give it a shot 😉 Looking forward to your episodes! Excellent work all around thus far. Lots of love. Hope you and your family are safe and healthy. 💙

You guys. Here I am just little old me, a HS teacher from NJ, entertaining herself with book review tweets expecting NO ONE to pay attention (except @JPSReads) and @WilliamXifaras comes along and likes my tweet about #DefendingJacob. Umm what?! 😱

YOU. GUYS.

Guys I don’t wanna brag but this isn’t the 1st time I’ve been #TouchedByFame One time I tweeted @loripetty demanding an explanation of the ending of A League of Their Own & she actually replied. She told me she knocked that ball right outta Dottie’s hands. No lie-I have receipts.

There is a reveal toward the end and a twist in the final letter that I didn’t see coming. It was a great read that I’m glad I accidentally picked up 🤦🏻‍♀️ (Would also make for a great Netflix movie 😆😆)

Anyway, so this book was perfectly creepy and unsettling. One of the children left in the care of the new nanny ends up dead and she recounts the entire story through a series of letters from jail to a potential lawyer. I loved the added element of the smart home.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. Guys. I read this by accident.🤦🏻‍♀️I watched #TheHauntingOfBlyManor & wanted to read the book it was based on. I found it odd that the series deviated so much from the book. Turns out I meant to read The Turn of the SCREW! @JPSReads Review of TTOTK: